


Forging Fate

by Khthon



Series: Metall/u/rgy [41]
Category: Metall/u/rgy
Genre: Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:53:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8471005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khthon/pseuds/Khthon
Summary: Fate has a funny way of laying foundations for many things. A reunion isn’t that out of place.





	1. Eldest Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place after Waiting Rooms and Crouching Step-Parent, Hidden Animosity

##### Something is up with Iron.

It wasn’t unusual for Zinc to get calls from Nickel every few days. Usually they were concerning Iron and her behavior whenever she went several days without sleep. As time went on, and Nickel became accustomed to Iron and her quirks, the calls had become less frequent. However, that’s not to say there wasn’t the odd call every now and again, like the one she had received about Iron punching into a vending machine or the call she was in the middle of now.

“Did I hear you right, Nickel? Iron...” Zinc sighed, “is listening to music and she seems different?”

“Yes.” If Nickel didn’t sound so concerned, Zinc might’ve thought a trick was being played on her.

“Different how, Nickel?” Still might just be a prank...

“Like, weird different. Her office is usually the quietest in the building, but when I went up to say good morning I was hearing movement long before I reached the door.” 

“And...”

“Well, at first I thought she was having a tryst with someone and I—"

“She would never, much less think about doing such a thing,” Zinc interrupted and decided she was going to go back over whatever constituted the reasons to call if Nickel believed that was reason enough.

“I know! Geez. Anyway, I quietly poked my head in and found her with headphones on while working,” Nickel bit out before lowering her voice. Zinc felt her frown deepen as she imagined Nickel looking around to see if the coast was clear before she continued.

“She was smiling, too.” 

Taking a deep breath, Zinc reigned in the long suffering sigh she almost let out and put her free hand on her forehead to help her fight off a headache.

“No,” sarcasm bit out, Zinc decided to not humor Nickel any longer.

“ **I KNOW!** ” Nickel’s disbelieving expression immediately popped into Zinc’s mind. “The sight left me speechless for a good minute before she called my name. I mean, I always figured Ms. Iron smiled when she was youn—"

“Nickel.” Zinc decided to cut her off before it got worse. “That isn’t a reason to call me acting like Iron might keel over...or as if she’ll fire you for talking to me.”

“W-well...it was really weird!” Zinc could just see Nickel lightly stomping her foot like a child.

“I’m sure it was Nickel. Now, I’m going to hang up and get back to work. I suggest you do the same before she catches onto your little break,” Zinc murmured into the phone while trying her best to not sound like she was telling a child to get back to work.

Putting her phone back, Zinc turned back to what she was working on before Nickel interrupted her day.

___________________________________________________________

Zinc grumbled to herself as she made her way to her car. Ever since Nickel’s call her day had just been dragged out beyond reason. It was like Materia wanted to drive her to her wits’ end. Opening the door and getting into the driver’s seat, Zinc was hoping for an easy drive back to her apartment and a nice quiet night in, but even that seemed out of her grasp. After all, her phone had just so happened to buzz as she was getting ready to leave the parking lot.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Zinc glanced at her phone and was mildly annoyed when she saw who texted her. Ferric Security, which likely meant that Iron had most likely been up for more than three days and ‘needed’ to be persuaded to go home. She resisted the urge to slam her face against the steering wheel and started her car. As she made her way to the megacorp building, Zinc hoped it'd be easy to convince Iron.

___________________________________________________________

Climbing the stairs all the way up to Iron’s office was probably not the best idea, Zinc reflected, now that she had reached the top floor. She was out of breath and cursed herself for taking the steps two at a time, but she wanted to get this done quickly. She had a nice quiet evening planned after all.

Once her breathing was back to normal, Zinc resumed her course to Iron’s office but something caught her ear. It wasn’t quite movement like Nickel mentioned earlier, no, it was more like, music?

_Strange, sounds almost like Goddess Forge._

Although, she was certain she was wrong. It had been a few years since she last heard Steel listen to them non-stop, but still, hearing music from Iron’s office was unusual. Not enough to alarm Zinc, but it was enough to make her a bit wary. Though not wary enough to stop from barging into Iron’s office and looking her very tired friend right in the eye.

A friend who had both of her arms up making loose fists and an absolutely surprised expression on her face as she met Zinc’s face which held a similar expression. Caught off-guard, Zinc had a faint thought that it looked as if Iron had been air drumming. The thought was so bizarre it threw off Zinc’s whole plan of confronting her friend and caused her stare at Iron.

While Iron continued to look at her.  
And she looked at Iron.  
And Iron looked at her.  
And she looked at Iron.

They would’ve continued staring at each other if the song hadn't ended causing Zinc to soften her features before raising an eyebrow. “Did I step through time? I haven’t seen you air drumming since before high school.” Zinc was sure she did a good job of keeping the mirth out of her voice, though Iron seemed to think otherwise with the light scowl she sent.

“Oh, ha ha." At least she was more humored by her comment than anything. "Now is there a reason for this sudden visit Zinc? I didn’t unintentionally ruin any plans, did I?” Iron rambled as she turned to close the music player on her computer. What snark or bite Zinc had planned to say drained from her as she listened to her friend’s questioning. A question that made Zinc realize that she really hasn’t been a good friend lately.

 _Oh Iron._ Making a snap decision Zinc decided on something different from what she usually did. Something that would hopefully be a bit fun

“Iron, you haven’t had dinner yet, right? I was thinking of heading to Pliny’s tonight,” Zinc began as a smidge of guilt shaped in her heart. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me. It’s been a while since we caught up.”

“Um...sure.” Iron ventured as Zinc saw her eyebrows rise. “Meet you there in ten?”

Zinc knew why Iron would be skeptical. It was because of the invitation, to Pliny’s of all places. They hadn’t eaten there, together, in years.

“Nah, come on, I’ll drive us there. It’ll be like when we were young and I first got my license,” Zinc lightly suggested as the smidge of guilt started to grow.

“Oh...oh, sure, lemme just pack some things up,” Iron acquiesced as she snapped out of the little sleep-deprived trance she had been in.

Nodding her head, Zinc ambled over to the office’s couch and proceeded to take a seat while she went over the tiny speck of guilt she was feeling.

A speck, which just so happened to be her realizing that Iron and her hadn't really done anything fun or together as friends in quite a while. Almost years, if she wanted to be honest. Zinc could and did argue with herself that helping Iron when she was overworked was good enough, but deep down a part of her knew that wasn’t enough considering friends would do more.

_Like go have fun together._

“Alright, I’m ready when you are Zinc,” Iron murmured as she walked over to Zinc. “Though, uh, I hate to ask this but would you mind giving me a ride to my apartment after? I’m feeling kind of tired and I don’t think I could make the trip after Pliny’s.”

_And help each other become better people._

“Sure, Iron,” Zinc affirmed softly as she stood up and headed to the door.

Maybe Zinc could help Iron, iron her life out...without something drastic.

“Thank you so much,” Iron beamed slightly as they began walking out of the office.

“You’re welcome; after all...what are friends for?”

_________________________________________________________________________

The drive over was pleasant enough, Iron seemed to be in an especially good mood from what Zinc could tell. She had even got her old friend to open up about what was playing when she had interrupted. Goddess Forge, making Zinc smirk to herself since she had guessed correctly. However Iron knowing about them was rather surprising in and of itself, though Zinc was more surprised by the revelation that Iron had gone to a concert. Not just one concert, but two, within the past month. That had kept her quiet for the remainder of the trip as Iron continued to talk about the various other bands she discovered before dozing off.

While a sleeping Iron was cute, Zinc had something of a hard time waking Iron up so that they could go eat. However, it eventually was achieved and soon they were eating with a nostalgic gusto as light conversation began to flow between them again. It wasn’t long before Zinc’s curiosity reared its head causing her to ask something that felt strangely ominous to her.

“So, I guess I missed this on the way over but I gotta know.” Zinc began, “Who introduced you to Goddess Forge?”  
Zinc just knew their little fun time came to a screeching halt as she saw Iron freeze for a good ten seconds before answering in a whisper. She almost wished Iron didn’t answer.

“…Steel.”

Silence hung over their table as Zinc processed what exactly Iron meeting Steel meant. Obviously it meant quite a few things, but the fact that Carbon didn’t make any sort of move to contact her about Iron gave Zinc the notion that it was unintentional on Iron’s part. Who knows for Steel, but Zinc wouldn’t be surprised if it was unintentional as well.

“What…what do you plan on doing Iron?” Zinc questioned solemnly as she took a sip of her drink. Iron shrugged her shoulders and nibbled her food some, gathering her thoughts indicative by the pace she was taking.

“I want to be upfront with her,” Iron started as she thought about her guilt from unintentionally befriending her daughter. “However, before I attempt that I need to talk to Carbon and clear the air about a few things.”

“Like what happened back then?” That earned a flinch from Iron causing Zinc to feel a little guilty. She hadn’t meant to poke Iron’s deeper guilt and self-loathing regarding what broke her friends apart. Offering an apologetic smile, Zinc decided to go out on a limb. “Sorry. Would you like for me to pass along a message then?”

Hearing the question, it looked as if Iron was debating about it before something within her gaze hardened and Zinc saw her resolve come out.  
“No. Thank you for offering though. I…I need to be the one to contact her and to set up the meeting.” Iron concluded with a dull yet steadfast gaze.

“It will be her decision if she meets me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta, Rd.  
> The Pliny's, Zinc refers to was taken from Pliny the Elder. A Roman author, and naturalist that had written about iron and its use in the Roman empire in his Naturalis Historia among a host of other things. I thought it would be somewhat fitting if one of Iron's favorite diners tangentially dealt with her.  
> 


	2. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mithril gets two interesting visitors one lazy Saturday

Slow days at the shop always had a tendency to drag on for Mithril, though lunch tended to help with that since they usually caused Mithril to lock up Khaza’s Collections and eat in the back. However there was just something about the whiled away hours, or maybe just the fact that the shop across the street literally never changed throughout the day that drove her insane during slow days. It just never changed, and it would drive her up the wall if she sat in the show room for more than four hours. If it didn’t produce such a reaction out of her, Mithril would’ve mused that it was like being in solitary confinement—just with the ability of being able to tell when time passed. Shaking her head, Mithril turned back to the reminder of her lunch and began to finish off the remaining grapes.

Honestly, she was baffled that Gado could handle the showroom without going insane. However, on second thought, that didn’t lend her apprentice much credence, but then again, Gado couldn’t even recognize her without her iconic heels on so she still had some growing to do. Popping two grapes in her mouth, Mithril recalled the first time it happened.

_~Flash back~_

It had been a hectic morning for Mithril. First, Adamantine got called in at fucking three in the morning, and second, she couldn’t find it in herself to go back to sleep. It just wasn’t the same without being able to cuddle her amazon. So, she decided to have a real early breakfast and then, just when she thought she’d be getting ready to go to work, she dozed off at the kitchen table. Thankfully, she had finished eating and didn’t face-plant into the plate. Still, it was enough to put a considerable delay in her schedule--before she could leave she still had to clean up, take a shower, and then finally get to her car so she could try to get to Khaza’s at semi-reasonable time.

Sure, she didn’t have to be in such a rush considering Gado was opening up that day, but being the only person running the shop for a good number of years caused Mithril to get stuck in a routine. As she quickly locked up the house and drove to her store, she didn’t quite realize something was off, literally. Specifically, her footing while driving, it felt off but she wasn’t entirely sure. However, that mattered very little. Mithril was too focused on trying to remember if she had any important appointments scheduled that day.

This distraction continued as she finally reached the store and pulled into her usual parking spot before making her way to the front entrance. It came as no surprise to Mithril to see that Gado was sitting in the showroom, and occupying her attention was, from the looks of it, a book. Her entrance caused her apprentice to look up. Well, that and put her book away to focus fully on her.

“Hello, and welcome to Khaza’s Collections. How may I help you?” Gadolinium said as a small amount of enthusiasm seeped through her voice. Mithril always found her to be so adorable. Especially, when she became flustered.

“No need, Gadoli. I’m running a bit late is all,” Mithril greeted as she paced towards the door leading to the back of the shop. It was where one of her note-planners happened to be and she could finally check for certain if she had anything scheduled. However, just when she was about to slip behind the display cases, Gadolinium appeared and blocked her entrance. Her apprentice seemed pretty resolute about blocking her as well, if that shy smile was anything to go by.

“Gado, this damn well isn’t funny. I need to get in the back,” she growled. Unfortunately for the both of them, Mithril being in a rush meant she wasn’t in a humorous mood. Trying to quickly piece together what was causing this, Mithril quickly glanced down in-between them to look at their shoes.

_Oh._

“I’m very sorry miss, but I can’t allow customers into the back. It’s against store pol-" 

_"Gadolinium.”_

Her apprentice’s eyes went wide as she immediately recognized that tone of voice and finally put together just who she was talking to. Gadolinium shot back, acting as if she got burned, giving Mithril more than enough space to get back to the door leading further into the store.

“I am _so_ sorry, Mistress Mithril. I don’t know what came over me.” Mithril could just tell Gado was going to start to babble as she tried to process her thoughts. “I-I don’t know how I mistook you for a customer, I am so very genuinely sorry.”

Mithril only nodded absently as she made her way into the back and towards her desk, where a very signature item was waiting for her. She felt silly for almost forgetting, but glad she had an extra pair here at the shop. From what she could tell, as she put on her extra pair of four inch heels, Mithril could just faintly hear Gadolinium’s babbling coming to an end. Her apprentice was probably now figuring out what exactly had altered her appearance so to cause such a mistake. After all...she was pretty memorable, if she said so herself.

Poking her head out into the showroom, Mithril caught Gadolinium’s eye before saying one last thing to the flustered girl. “You didn’t get a growth spurt Gadoli.”

The sight of Gado gaping at her, as if she read her mind, put a smile on Mithril’s face that remained for the rest of the day.

_~Flashback end~_

Popping the last grape into her mouth, Mithril bit down and was satisfied when juice met her tongue as her thoughts drifted from Gadolinium to grapes. She always loved eating grapes. It was one of her favorite ways to rile up her wife into a round of fun, which usually led to Mithril getting grabbed and slung over one of Ada's shoulders and hauled up the stairs. As much as she missed Titanium while she was at University, Mithril was grateful for the empty house. Speaking of empty houses, if the day continued to be as slow as it had been in the morning, Mithril was very tempted to close up early and surprise her wife with a few romantic things.

She shook her head to get rid of those naughty thoughts and began to clean up when her phone buzzed slightly. A text. She had gotten a text, at such an hour. Rather unusual, but then Mithril had to remind herself that not everything was as complicated and intricate as she liked to imagine. It was most likely Ada trying to make plans for later.

Apparently she had been wrong since the text was from her cute little niece, Electrum, Gold’s youngest and who just happened to be an adorable little copy of her closest friend. However, this caused Mithril to pause in her thoughts. Electrum was asking if she could stop by and get some advice. This struck Mithril as very unusual, for as far as Mithril knew, her niece tended to ask Gold or Tin about anything that was bothering her. Why was she suddenly getting put on counselor duty?

Not to say she was against it, it just made Mithril realize she wasn’t as close as she’d wanted to be with her nieces. Though, thankfully, this proved an excellent opportunity for her to change that. She texted Electrum that she could swing by, even use the back entrance if the girl was so inclined, then resumed cleaning up her desk to prepare. It wouldn’t do to be unprofessional, even in front of family.

After what felt like only a few scant moments, Mithril heard—and soon saw—the back entrance slowly being opened and was greeted by her niece. Mithril smiled as she got up to meet Electrum and pulled her into a hug.

“Hello auntie,” Electrum murmured as she distractedly returned the affection. Mithril figured whatever was bothering her was serious if little Elect couldn’t give a proper hug.

“Just look at you, you look so grown up Electrum,” Mithril fussed as she got a better look at the girl. “And so beautiful, too. You are looking so much like your mothers, it’s uncanny.” Beaming at the compliment, Electrum maneuvered out of Mithril’s arms before giving her aunt a bit of space while she nervously looked around.

Mithril began to wonder if something bad had happened as she turned her complete attention to little Elect who seemed so antsy about something. She wasn’t quite sure what had caused the nerves in her niece but damn it, she was going to find out.

“Now, what seems to be troubling you?” Mithril began as she took a seat and motioned to a nearby chair. “So much that you snuck away to talk to me, little one?” The remark elicited a gasp from Electrum, though Mithril figured it was more because she was spot on than any sort of offense Electrum was feeling.

“I...I didn’t sneak away, it’s Saturday. I went out.” Electrum objected with an adorable little pout. 

“Of course, but my question is why? Also, why me?” Mithril ventured as she changed her tone slightly, “You usually go to your mother when you need advice. Barring Gold, you also quite readily ask Tin when you’re in need of advice. Almost feels like you never stop by to visit.”

Electrum winced as her aunt began to question her, while unintentionally making her feel bad for only coming to visit when she needed something.

“I’m sorry auntie. I-Something’s been happening with school eating my time up and...and well,” Electrum hesitated slightly, but seeing the concerned look on her aunt’s face caused her to come clean. “I didn’t want Mother to know about this since it’s—uh—it’s about romance.”

Now that caused Mithril’s eyebrows to climb her forehead. Romance? Her sweet, adorable, little niece was getting involved with romance? Well, if she was being honest, it wasn’t that big of a surprise, but the way Electrum went about revealing it made it more surprising.

“Also, aunt Tin’s away touring for the next month, and from what mom says when they talk about their high school life it kind of...paints Aunt Tin in a less than flattering light concerning romance,” Electrum quietly admitted. It was obvious to see her niece was honest in feeling terrible about realizing that this was the first time she asked her auntie for advice. Mithril made a light scoff as she heard the reasons plus the notion of Tin being bad at romance. Hells, the woman sung about romance for a good portion of her discography. She couldn’t be bad going by her success.

“Well, I can understand wanting to keep things quiet since your mother has a tendency to exaggerate, Pluto knows I have experience with it,” Mithril chuckled at the memory of when she told Gold about bedding Pandema, “though you should give Tin more credit. That was back during secondary, everyone does things that makes them look less flattering...believe me.” Electrum just nodded a bit stiffly as she digested the words.

“Alright, sooo,” Mithril decided to get back on track, “what about romance has you dodging your mother and asking me for advice?”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, allowing Electrum to gather her thoughts while Mithril tried to think of what specifically was the cause for Electrum seeking her out.

“Well, no easy way to broach this, so I’ll come out and say it. I seem to be in the middle of being pursued-um, romantically pursued by a classmate. One who seems to believe that I feel something for her,” Electrum opened up and proceeded to explain the entire situation to her auntie, who listened rather intently to Electrum’s story.

“So, if I got this right, this...Iridosmine girl, likes you romantically,” Mithril slowly began as she thought of how to phrase her thoughts.

“Yes, it’s driving me batty as well with her advances,” Electrum huffed as she crossed her arms.

Nodding in thought, Mithril began to think back to her youth. Electrum’s situation sounded remarkably like a story she read when she was younger. That would probably help her later if she could find a copy of the book among the ones she kept here.

“And initially, it was just her copying your style to get your attention.” A nod. “This led to you confronting her when you two were working on a project together and then having your...perceptions thrown off kilter.” Another nod was her response, albeit more slowly than the previous one. “You’re also not sure about your own feelings toward her.” She received a third, more sheepish nod this time.

“Well, I have two—wait, no three things to say, that might help you with her,” Mithril affirmed as she sat straighter, and she was happy to see Electrum taking it as an indication to get serious. “One is...Electrum dear, you need to learn how to roll with the punches. I know you probably think you do, but, do you really?”

Electrum looked down in thought going over the most recent times and belatedly realized that she had dug her heels in and fought with everything she had instead of molding the situation into her liking. Just like her Mother always said about doing when nervous.

“Don’t beat yourself up to much, little one. Gold was the same way for a while,” Mithril snickered at the shocked look she received from her niece. “Oh yes, when you have some time ask your mothers about their first date. Then come to me and I’ll tell you how it really happened, oh, and how Gold had a fit because everything fell apart and how she wanted her first ‘serious’ date to go perfectly.” To say Electrum was shocked at such a revelation was underplaying it. She was flabbergasted.

“I know," Mithril continued, "though thankfully Silver salvaged the situation while Gold was wrapped up in her own little world. Anyway, you see the point I’m making?” An appreciative 'yes' was Mithril’s answer. “Good, now the second is imitation can be seen as flattery and the more important third thing is this: how well do you know this Iridosmine? Take a minute to think about it and answer me honestly.”

It took more than a few minutes for Elect to come up with an answer. “I suppose I don’t know her at all. Most of what I know is what anyone could pick up from talking to her, well...” Electrum smirked as she continued, “Except maybe you Auntie. Outside of what I learned during the project, I never had a reason to get to know her.”

Mithril softly smiled upon hearing the answer, proud that Electrum could come to such a conclusion with very little pushing on her part.  


“Knowing this I suggest that the next time she begins to flirt with you,” Mithril paused trying to find the right words to use. “Stop her in an appropriate manner. Then be upfront and say, that while it is flattering, you would like to get to know her better before you consider such prospects.” Electrum nodded with bright eyes, causing Mithril to wonder if this was how Gold always felt when giving advice.

“Make sure to be firm, but gentle, when you offer this suggestion.”

“Of course, auntie.”

“Good girl, it should give you time to sort your feelings out as well. Now then, as enjoyable as our chat was, I need to open up the shoppe again and I believe you have an appointment with your mother,” Mithril concluded as she saw the time and remembered which day it was. Gold usually had a late lunch with her daughters on the weekend, and it was just about starting. She didn’t want Gold to be suspicious about why Electrum was late.

“AO above and Gaia below, you’re right!” Electrum let out a little gasp as she finally realized the time and began to get up and made her way to the back entrance. Meanwhile, Mithril hung behind a bit to look for that particular book from the back. If she could find it, she felt it could give Electrum some ideas despite the book being a pretty trashy novel. It only took Mithril a few seconds of tearing through the book shelf for her to find the one she planned on giving. Bless Gadolinium’s desire to organize bookshelves. 

“One last thing, little one...Take this and give it a once over,” Mithril quietly suggested as she caught up to the girl and gave Electrum a book titled _Pursued by the Heavens_. The look she got from her niece was probably not the best one.

“...I’ll definitely try auntie, but uh...” Electrum muttered as she tried to fight off a blush. “Why are you giving me a book with Aunt Ada half undressed on the cover?”

“A story for another time, Electrum,” Mithril hurriedly said as she walked Electrum to the entrance where she kindly opened the door for her. “Be sure to talk your mothers into visiting us more. I know Ada doesn’t show it, but she loves to see her little princess.”

Electrum couldn’t fight off the blush caused by that nickname so she quickly stammered her goodbye as she tried not to bolt from the shop out of reflex.

 _Always so easy to fluster, just like your mother,_ Mithril thought fondly as she continued with re-opening the shop on this lazy Saturday. 

___________________________________________________

_I swear to Primae Materia, that if I don’t get a customer within the next two hours I’m going to go home early._

Lucky for Mithril, another customer did happen to drop by within the time span she set for herself. A customer, who she was surprised to see considering the type of person she is. Standing up and moving towards her, Mithril met her customer in the middle of the store.

“Hello and welcome to Khaza’s Collections. How may I help you today, miss?” Mithril opened with a business-like smile as her customer seemed to be taking in her height. Mithril didn’t think she was that tall, all things considered, but apparently, her height always surprised people.

“Uh-yes,…some of my friends recommended your shop, and I was curious about something,” the woman rambled a bit, as she was caught by surprise regarding Mithril. “I was wondering if you did cleanings and repairs.”

“It would depend on the type of repair...” Mithril fished as she thought about what would need both cleaning and repairing. Rings and the like usually just needed cleaning or had to be reset. Earrings were about the only thing coming to Mithril's mind.

“Watch repair?” the woman queried as she pulled out a simple yet elegant wristwatch before handing it to Mithril. Accepting the watch, Mithril brought it up to her eye level as she began to walk back behind one of the counters. 

The watch was simple enough in design—the actual watch face was a polished metal frame that was rectangular in shape. As for the time keeping details they were a simple analog configuration with only four roman numerals present. There was also what looked to be a very small cut diamond just below the twelve, if Mithril wasn’t wrong. The wrists straps were rather interesting as well, they seemed to be actual leather that were dyed a deep black. All in all, the style of the watch was very monochromatic but it seemed to fit the woman perfectly. However, there seemed to be various scratches on the watch’s glass and the leather seemed to be in need of replacing. Setting the watch down on the counter, Mithril moved her gaze back up to her customer.

“So, what’s the thing this beauty is in need of most?” Mithril questioned as she began to think of what she’d need to clean and make all the various repairs to the watch so it could be presentable. Though something told her, that the woman wasn’t that worried about whether it was presentable. Just that she wanted it cleaned and fixed.

“I don’t know. It was working perfectly fine last week, and then the tics began to be out of sync and it seemed to be going faster before it stopped altogether,” the lady groused slightly though from what Mithril could see, she was a bit distraught over it failing.

“Well, that can definitely be repaired here and it can just as easily be cleaned up, but,” Mithril ventured as her mind came up with what might’ve been the cause. “I might have to send it to a specialist I know, if I can’t fix it here at the shoppe. Would that be okay?”

“Yes, of course, as long as it gets repaired,” the woman answered readily.

“Great, though there is one more thing I feel I should ask,” Mithril began while pulling out a container to put the watch in. “Would you like me to replace the wrist straps on the watch while I’m cleaning it?”

“Umm-"

“Do note that such a replacement wouldn’t be any extra charge. It would count as part of the cleaning in the bill,” Mithril admitted as she gave the woman a soft smile.

“Alright, sure, the old thing could do with getting spiffed up, since it’s so ragged.” Acquiescing to her suggestion the woman began to dig through her purse for something. “And here is my card, so that you can reach me when it’s ready.”

“Very good miss, expect a call in ten to fourteen business days. Depending on what actually needs to be repaired,” Mithril said as she accepted the card with practiced ease. Seeing the woman nod, Mithril gave her another smile as she began to make her way out of the shop when Mithril spoke again.

“Oh...one more thing, Carbon.” Mithril’s voice took on a hint of ice as she caused the other woman to come to a standstill at the exit. 

“Don’t ever hurt my daughter again.” Carbon shot Mithril a bewildered look, one which received an unsympathetic smile from Mithril, before continuing her exit and ignoring the odd laugh Mithril was doing.

“Kukukukuku...,” Mithril trailed off as she reined her laugh in and proceeded to pull the watch out to get a closer look at an inscription she felt. “Oh my Carbon. No wonder why you kept this for so long.”

The inscription was simple and to the point.

_Watch our love stand against time  
-Iron._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta, Rd. This can be considered to happen in the same week that Eldest friend does.
> 
> Mithril's shop, Khaza's Collections, is a reference to Khazad-dûm or Moira from LoTR. The place where mithril was mined in the setting.
> 
> Two more references this time. The first is Pandema, which is a reference to Aphrodite Pandemos. An epithet for Venus/Aphrodite that was used to describe her more earthly dominion, the physical lust or low sensual pleasures that also had a second sense that was more sociopolitical. All things considered, I'm making a reference to the first sense since Adamantine had a very brief stint as the setting's equivalent to Fabio when she was younger. 
> 
> AO also is an epithet to Venus/Aphrodite, though I had mistakenly misspelled it when I shortened it. The epithet is Aphrodite (O)Urania, which signified the more heavenly love of body and spirit compared to Pandemos' physical lust.


	3. Autumn's Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cold day renews a friendship

Winter in the Metropolis was one of Iron’s favorite times. Right after the first snowfall, when all the trees were leafless, the stillness inured during the night frequently helped Iron sort through her emotions and distressing thoughts when they afflicted her. Unfortunately, said conditions were not able to help Iron the previous night, especially since it had been the night before her planned meeting with Carbon. Carbon...Iron was still incredulous about the fact that her...ex agreed to meet her.

 _Should I call her my ex?_ Iron thought to herself as she sat on a bench located in one of the Hearth’s more expansive parks. Winter wind gently blew throughout the park but that couldn’t break Iron from her thoughts as she waited. Unaware of the chill that was steadily settling upon her.

_We didn’t really break up._

Iron had eventually suggested that she meet Carbon during their lunch hour, in a park close to where Carbon worked. One that tended to have a lot of foot traffic during the day. Carbon had stiffly agreed and they set the date although Iron was sure that her former flame realized why Iron offered up the location. Iron had a tendency to stand out in a crowd, if not from her height than because of her unusual hair color, which would give Carbon ample time to back out of the meeting. If she wanted too, despite the actual meeting taking place in a more secluded area of the park. Iron hoped she wouldn’t, she really did...but she wouldn’t hold it against Carbon, if she chose to back out at the last second. It would just be the tip of what Iron deserved for what happened so long ago.

 _If she doesn’t come...I should at least send her a message. Explaining why I left,_ her thoughts took a somber turn as she continued to wait, absently rubbing her arms to warm up a little while the minutes ticked by. _I should’ve brought a heavier coat._

Her collusion of sadness would’ve continued playing out in her head, further amplifying the guilt and self-loathing she was allowing to fester but the sound of heels steadily clicking against the park path broke the spell. The sound also caused Iron’s exhausted gaze to look up to see what was causing the sound and what she saw caused her to feel an unusual warmth in her bosom. A warmth that felt oddly out of place yet familiar.

The source of the feeling and the sound was none other than Carbon, or at least who Iron assumed was Carbon. She looked like what Iron remembered but there was some obvious age to her face. Age that Iron felt added to the woman’s looks though she quickly buried those thoughts. She shouldn’t be thinking about how nice Carbon looked, if that was her, definitely not now of all times. Seeing the woman come ever closer, Iron slowly raised from the bench she occupied and began to meet her halfway. Though there were no people within hearing distance, but as she got closer, Iron quickly recognized the face of how Carbon looked when she was trying to hide anger.

That was reasonable, Iron felt, all things considered, but she hoped Carbon would at least let her say what she came to say before doing anything. Well, anything rather serious that is.

“Hello Carbon. Thank you for meeting me today,” Iron began quietly as she stopped short a few foot before Carbon. “I wanted to have a chance to expl-"

A quiet thwack met Iron’s ears as her left cheek and upper lip felt a painful sting blossom.

“...to explain some things before they got further misconstrued.”

The small glare she received had her internally raising an eyebrow. That Tungsten woman must have completely misread how she interacted with Steel during that concert. Iron could hardly blame her for the mistake but she felt a small amount of animosity was due for telling Carbon without understanding Steel’s history with her.

Hardly matters now, she thought as she wetted her lips. She got a faint taste of blood. So Carbon had slapped her. Alright, she could understand why, despite not liking it.

“Would you like to slap me again? I certainly deserve more than one slap...” Grousing as she shifted her weight to her other foot and exhaling a cloud of mist, Iron decided to push on with her plan. “I flagellate myself enough on my own time, so may I try to clear the air as I originally intended to do? Please?”

Iron felt herself rubbing her arms once more as she held Carbon’s gaze, who slowly acquiesced with a nod. Whatever anger Carbon had been hiding seemed to have disappeared from her eyes, though Iron couldn’t be too sure. It had been years since she had seen this woman upset and had forgotten how Carbon dealt with those emotions.

“I’m sure Ms.Tungsten had told you about the last concert ...Steel went to,” Iron had to pause for a moment as she got a better grip on her emotions. The look Carbon shot her at the mistake didn’t help matters either. “What she doesn’t know, and I feel you might, is that my friendship with Steel is unintentional. For both of us, and don’t worry, I never told her who I was.”

It was very difficult to not swallow her tongue every time she spoke her daughter’s name. Iron felt she didn’t have a right to use it but another side, a sterner side of Iron felt she had to use Steel’s name. It was a reminder that her daughter was an actual person. One she had met, and befriended. Not a weird mix of what she imagined during quiet nights, the records she looked over, and what she felt having a daughter should be like. Steel was a person that deserved to be recognized in Iron’s mind, not just carelessly absorbed into the ideal she thought up in regret of the past.

“Being completely frank, I...shamefully didn’t even know that the girl I was talking to in Vanadium’s waiting room was Steel,” Iron continued as her focus shifted to the ground. “When I found out my friend was ou-...Steel, a part of me felt that I should disappear again. After all, am I really worthy of her friendship? I didn’t think so, but we had made plans about going to see that concert. And if there’s one thing I picked up while I was gone, it was to always follow through with plans both parties agreed upon.”

Iron inhaled a shaky breath as she gathered her thoughts. She hadn’t meant to be that open, but Carbon’s presence always did curious things to her. Made her softer, more talkative and truthful with what she was thinking.

“So, that’s how I met Ms.Tungsten. I also want you to know that when I found out she was Steel, I had always planned to contact you. I can’t really offer anything but excuses, since I should’ve done it sooner, however I was always going to be up front and honest with you. About whether you want me to stay away from Steel...” Iron felt the tremor in her voice more than heard when she spoke. Looking back up at Carbon’s gaze, Iron felt her emotional control tighten once more. Now wasn’t the time. “Or if you felt Steel should meet her other mother. In spite of...how terrible of a person I am.”

Iron felt herself shiver harshly as she finished her little monologue though she pointedly ignored it. The cold was the least of her problems now that everything was up to Carbon. A part of her fully expected Carbon to tell her to keep away from them, but she stomped those thoughts down. She had done enough speculating over the years regarding a situation like this, she wasn’t about to do it again while it was actually happening.

“Iron,” Carbon softly spoke as something odd tinged her voice. Iron wasn’t sure what it was and didn’t really have any idea about what it could be. “Before I make my decision, could I please find out the reason why you left? You owe me that much.”

Iron slowly nodded. _A good of a time as any, right?_

“I was sixteen, and had just found out I was pregnant. In the beginning we talked about what we planned on doing and how we were going to handle raising her, but as the months went along you got wrapped up in the idea of having a family...” Iron started without preamble before holding her hand up to stop any comment from Carbon and to gather her thoughts better. “...I was scared, Gra-Carbon.”

Iron felt herself shudder, though whether it was from the cold or what she was thinking, she wasn’t sure.

“You might’ve had something to help see it as joyous and wonderful, and I’ll readily admit that part of me did as well, but I had just been recently emancipated and only started living on my own when Steel was conceived. That realization finally hit me in the second trimester,” Iron admitted shakily as she lost focus of Carbon and began to stare blankly in her direction. “I-We were going to have to take care of a baby- our baby, while I lived alone! The realization coupled with the thought of you seemingly too wrapped up in your own world to help me plan became too much and allowed doubt to enter my mind...”

The wind that had been blowing began to pick up while Iron stayed oblivious to the worsening chill.

“So...During the third trimester when we were busier with school, I figured you would be able to take care of her better. After all, your parents were still alive and you were much better off compared to me. You had a plethora of support, and were leaving school that year.” Another shaky breath escaped Iron as her gaze remained unfocused. “Even as I did it, I felt terrible. I was being selfish giving our baby to you despite all the opportunities it afforded her. I mean what could a sixteen year old living by herself provide? Nothing. She deserved better. Better th-...Better than a cowardly failure for a mother. She deserved someone better and you were the one that could help her live life.”

A soft gasp was heard though Iron would never be sure if it was Carbon or herself.

“Looking back, I-I realize I should’ve been more open about my fears and talked with you about them, but you always were so happy. I couldn’t find it in myself to ruin your happiness.”

Iron exhaled a breath that was more sob than breath, which soon gave way to a broken laugh.

"Ironic that no matter what I could and did do, I would and did ruin your happiness. I made a mistake, the worst mistake of my life. I was wrong to think that way and I am sorry for hurting you.”

Silence descended upon them like a heavy frigid cloak as Carbon processed everything she said while she did her best to keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t going to cry in front of anyone, never again. She’d do it alone, where no one could help since that’s what she felt she deserved. It’s what she always deserved among a host of other things she felt. It might just be better to be told to stay away. However the silence was soon broken by the sound of chattering causing Iron to look around to see what was causing it, unknowingly rubbing her arms more vigorously as she searched.

Her search didn’t last long however as she soon felt Carbon take one of her hands. Obviously, this caused all thoughts to leave her mind outside of one.

_Why is she holding my hand?_

“Prima Materia...” Carbon exclaimed. Iron noticed the weird tinge to her voice was still present, and decided she’d have to figure out what that was sometime. “You’re so cold Iron. That explains the sound.”

Iron gave Carbon a questioning look. Why would her being cold explain that chattering? They were outside, and it was winter. It stands to reason both of them would be cold. The flat look she received from Carbon didn’t really help things but it did remind her of their school days. Back when everything was simpler.

“You’re shivering Iron. The chattering is from you.”

“O-Oh.” A much more prominent chill ran down Iron’s spine at this realization. “I should’ve worn a heavy coat.”

“Damn right you should’ve,” Carbon replied in a tone as flat as the look she received moments ago. Iron felt herself getting pulled long as Carbon began walking towards the park's entrance. “Let’s get you out of the cold before we continue our talk.” 

“Wha…Where are we going?” Iron muttered as she tried to get over the minor whiplash she felt. 

“Someplace to warm up and to maybe have a bite to eat.” Carbon answered without turning around or looking back.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Carbon didn’t quite know what she expected when she agreed to this meeting with Iron. She was the mother of her child, and a small part liked to believe Iron was still her friend. Just one that Carbon hasn’t been in contact with for ta few decades. She had honestly expected some awkward hello's and then, of course, Iron attempting to clear the air about her relationship with Steel. After all it was pretty evident to Carbon that Tungsten’s view of events was...skewed, compared to what her daughter told her. What Steel had gushed about lined up better with what Iron was telling her. That their meeting and ensuing friendship had been unintentional and it was mostly due to Vanadium’s waiting room. Learning all that caused Carbon to feel a little silly about slapping Iron now.

More importantly, Carbon had finally learned why Iron had left her all those years ago. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel as conflicted about it as she thought she would. On one teen-aged hand she could see how she had reason to still be angry about the entire thing, but then on the other more worldly hand, she could understand and sympathize with teen-aged Iron’s reasoning. She might not agree with it or the results she produced but she could see why Iron thought it was the best thing to do at the time. That and raising Steel had caused whatever anger she might hold to diminish over the years, eventually admitting to herself that she’d forgive Iron the next time they met. All in all, that wrapped up the matter pretty nicely for Carbon though now she was stuck on something else. She might’ve forgiven Iron, doubly so upon hearing the actual reason, but would Carbon be up to offering her hand in friendship?

That prospect was something she wasn’t really sure about although the cold was unexpected and seeing Iron’s teeth chatter woke up Carbon’s helpful nature and produced a convenient distraction for her dilemma. Soon they found themselves within Réaumur’s Bistro, a favorite of Carbon's, warming up as they had a bite of lunch. Initially it was because of its proximity to her work, but after a few meals Carbon had become a steady customer. She and Iron had just finished their meals and were sipping on hot drinks as Carbon tried to gather her thoughts and find a good place to start her half of the conversation.

 _At least Hydrogen’s advice about closure was useful,_ Carbon thought to herself as she sipped her coffee. Across from her Iron was silently holding her cup of cocoa, waiting on Carbon to start as she demurely stared into her drink. _It’s nice to see her dislike of coffee hasn’t changed._

Smiling at that little quirk, Carbon felt what she wanted to say click into her mind. She was probably going to go out on a limb but Steel did seem rather happy when talking about her friend and the concert.

“Iron...” Carbon waited for the woman to meet her eye before continuing on, “This is hardly the place for it so I’ll reserve my feelings about what happened a decade ago for another time, although I must thank you for clearing the air about what happened. Tungsten is well meaning, but she doesn’t really seem willing to completely listen. However regarding Steel, I honestly haven’t seen her as happy as she was coming back from that concert in several years. In fact, her smile remained for the rest of the week.”

Iron took a rather generous sip of her cocoa upon hearing that in hopes to hide how much it surprised her, but Carbon could easily make out the flush on Iron’s face. The sight was interesting, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things.

“Along with the fact that you and her saw each other regularly before said concert, I think it would be reasonable and appropriate to introduce you to Steel as her birth mother,” Carbon paused for a moment to try and get a read on what Iron was feeling, but just like when they were in high school it was proving difficult for Carbon. “That is if you want to mee-”

“Yes.”

Iron’s prompt answer caught Carbon by surprise. So surprised, that she felt her eyebrows raise. The sheepish look she got from Iron was apology enough though Carbon felt a tad strange seeing Iron so apologetic over something minor.

“Very well. Shall we meet up in say...two weeks?”

“Could we make it three? There’s something coming up that needs my involvement at work.”

“That’s fine, Iron. I’ll contact you with a proper date later this week, yeah?” Carbon asked as she set down the exact change on the table before finishing off her cuppa.

“Yeah, that’s fine, and again...” Iron agreed softly before Carbon saw her take another sip. “Thank you for meeting me in spite of everything.”

Feeling her gaze soften, Carbon decided that Iron at least deserved to know some of her thoughts and an answer to her recent dilemma was found.

“Iron, despite what happened between us and everything that’s currently happening, I would like to try and be friends again.” Carbon wasn’t sure why she was suddenly feeling shy, but it was something she was able to shove into the back of her mind. “If that’s alright with you.”

“Ye...Yes, of course.”

“Okay,” Carbon said as she met Iron’s eyes. It had looked like some weight had lifted from the woman's shoulders but Carbon’s gaze soon caught the time on a nearby clock, causing her to realize her lunch ran a little long. “Ah damn, I’m sorry about leaving you so suddenly Iron, but I've got to get back to work. See you in three weeks, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Saying another goodbye, Carbon was soon making her way out of the bistro as a subtle warmth began to suffuse her body.

_It was nice to talk to you again, Iron._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta, Rd. Roughly takes place a week and a half after the previous chapter
> 
> I most likely didn't make it too clear in this since it didn't focus too much on Iron's guilt and regret, but I feel and think that Iron feels wholly unworthy of the success she's had because of what she did by disappearing from Carbon and Steel's life. It also had time to lay dormant and fester during lonely nights where she was thinking upon her past getting worse with each passing introspection. 
> 
> The Réaumur in the Bistro's name is referencing René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur. A french scientist in the 18th century that contributed to many fields and introduced the Réaumur scale. The reason for the name had to do with his investigation of the differences between iron and steel, accurately showing that cast iron had the largest amount of carbon in it while steel had a middling amount followed by wrought iron which has the smallest amount.


	4. Ananke's Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting in a bookstore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks after Autumn's Chill. One could place it between mid-December and New Year's day.

Steel wasn’t really sure what had put her Mom in a mood; it was a rather strange mood all things considered. She couldn’t be too sure but her Mom seemed almost nostalgic lately, which didn’t really help her own little dilemma. A dilemma involving a certain older woman she had befriended in a waiting room. A woman that Steel was feeling oddly strange about lately and one who was her friend. A friend she hadn’t seen in a month and she was getting a little worried. Well Steel would be more worried if they hadn’t been texting each other off and on, which may have caused Terne to act a little weird too. Steel, however, was wishing Terne wasn’t being so moody since she could’ve helped Steel with her little dilemma.

The dilemma being that Steel was feeling oddly attracted to Ferra. Very attracted if she was being honest with herself, and she wasn’t really sure what to do. She largely thought that it was a response to being friends with an adult that had excellent taste in music, and maybe the fact that Ferra’s dull red hair was exotic enough to be considered rather beautiful in Steel’s mind. She often wondered what it would look like if her friend wasn’t so overworked. 

Probably more vibrant while still keeping its deep red color Steel mused before the sound of her Mom’s footsteps drew her attention away from her thoughts, and back to the present where Steel had been reading a book as she laid in her room. 

“Hey sweetie.” There it was. That tone in her Mom’s voice was what made Steel think something was up. It was slightly reserved but with just an undertone of wistfulness. As if her Mom felt she was going to be gone for a decade and this was the last time she’d see Steel. Honestly it was a little concerning because Steel started to believe something like that was going to happen. The shifting of her bed to support her Mom’s weight alongside hers finally got Steel out of her mind and into the present. She had some things to ask her Mom and there was no better time like the present. 

“Hey Mom…Have you been feeling okay?” Steel asked rather bluntly. She might’ve been gentler in her inquiry normally, but her Mom’s mood had been going on for the past two weeks. Steel felt she missed her chance for subtle probing. “You’ve been acting unusual for a while.” 

“How have I been unusual?” 

“You’re acting wistful? I guess. Like I’m about to go out of the country for Uni and we won’t see each other for five years.” Steel spoke hashing out her reasoning as she held her Mom’s eye. She couldn’t really think of another way to explain it since her Mom’s mood was so strange. The rather puzzled look on her Mom’s face soon fell away as Steel let her words sink in. She remembered the last time she let herself ramble; it ended up with Steel securely putting her foot in her mouth. Something Steel would rather avoid doing again. She had felt positively silly. 

“I guess I have been acting…nostalgic lately.” Carbon slowly admitted as Steel quirked an eyebrow. She wasn’t quite sure what her Mom could be nostalgic about. From what her Mom told her, most of her youth was pretty normal to lackluster. “This nostalgia was actually why I wanted to talk to you.” 

Now that got Steel to close her book. Talks were usually serious stuff, and with how her Mom had been acting the topic must’ve been really serious and possibly dire. Like life-altering stuff though Steel hoped it was less serious. 

“Do you remember, when you were little, and you would occasionally ask about your other mother?” Steel felt the hair on her neck stand up. This was not the topic she was expecting. 

“Yeah.” Of course Steel remembered and as she got older, Steel realized she never got a concrete answer. Just that her other mother was alive–somewhere-and loves her with all her heart. Her Mom didn’t ever specify and looking back, Steel felt that was rather strange especially with the way it would cause her Mom to get slightly misty eyed. Almost as if her other mother died or something, though looking back on it, Steel feels that something might’ve happened to drive them apart. In fact, Steel had been kicking around the idea of trying to track down her mother when she was older by possibly hiring someone. Maybe then she could put the subject to rest. 

“I may have omitted somethings at that time.” Well that just confirmed Steel’s thoughts on the matter, and she could probably guess why her Mom omitted such things. “Just slightly though. Back when you were asking I had only known that your mother vanished a few weeks after you were born, and that she had loved you with all her heart.” 

Wait, had known? Steel might’ve felt there was a little more within that sentence but the idea of her mother being alive somewhere kind of wrested all of her attention to her Mom’s words. Actually alive and out there in the world, she wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that. 

“The reason why I’m bringing this up is twofold. One of them is that I feel you’re old enough for…well all of the truth, and any answers to questions you might have. The other reason is that your mother contacted me a few weeks ago…and she wants to meet us.” Steel wasn’t entirely sure if she could handle any more surprises today. What would be next? Terne saying she has a crush on her? 

“I was going to leave the decision to go up to you, though I will probably meet her on my own just to clear some things up.” Well that settled that, Steel was going. If only for a similar reason to her Mom’s reason to go, though something was bugging her. 

“She’s not dying is she?” Steel asked a moment after her Mom finished. It wasn’t quite what was bugging her, though it was a good starting point as any. 

“What?! No, She’s not dying.” Moving to a sitting position, Steel was a little surprised by her mom’s exclamation. Her Mom looked to be a little surprised at the reaction as well though as Steel got off her bed, she noted how quick her mother recovered. “No she isn’t, I don’t really know why she decided to reach out now though I have a pretty good idea. I’ll know more when I go and meet her for different reasons.” 

Nodding to herself and humming in acknowledgement, Steel made her way to the desk she kept in her room. This conversation had made her remember a photo-a Polaroid really- she had found when she was younger, one of her Mom and another lady together. Steel liked think, occasionally, that the other person was indeed her mother and now seemed like a good time to find out. 

“So…Mom, is the other person in this my mother?” Steel asked as sat down next to Carbon and held up the photo. It was a bit of an odd picture, one that looked like it was taken in a quiet moment between two friends or a couple. Her Mom, who looked to be around her age, was cuddling up against the other lady with a smile on her face; it looked like she had just got done laughing at something as she rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder. The part that always made her snicker was the other person in the picture. The girl had the misfortune of being too tall compared to Carbon and ended up with most of her face out of the frame though what the camera did capture was the quiet, and in Steel’s mind, beautiful smile of the lady. It looked like the smile of someone who's smiles were a rare treasure, which added to why Steel thought it was taken in a quiet moment between them. 

Well that and the way her Mom was staring off into space currently helped to cement the answer in Steel’s mind. 

“Mom?” Carbon started quietly as she remained transfixed on the photo. 

“Huh? Oh yes…that is your mother and me. We were both in high school then, spring break I think. I had wanted to get quite a few pictures of her to use as references. After I had gotten enough we had gone out to get something to eat and we were fooling around with the camera.” If Steel wasn’t so caught up in wanting to absorb every bit of information about her mother, she might’ve caught how wistful her Mom sounded as she explained the photo. “We had a pretty good laugh about this photo when I found it, she said that the framing fit her perfectly. You actually have her smile.” 

“Do you have a sketch of her?” Steel wasn’t really sure if she wanted to see how her mother looked or just more evidence of her existence. 

“I believe so.” Her Mom said breaking her gaze from the photo and getting up. “I mean I should, I remember sketching her endlessly when we were together. Lemme go check.” 

As her Mom went to get said sketch, Steel turned her gaze back to the photo trying to take in all the details she could. Her mother seemed to favor function over form with clothing although that seemed to give her a rather plain look especially when next to her Mom in some make up. Her mother’s choice of long hair was an unusual addition though. One she hadn’t expected. Although the remark her Mom made about having her mother’s smile did cause a strange feeling to creep into Steel’s body. 

_I wonder what else I got from my mother._

Maybe she had her mother’s voice, eyes, cheek bones, hair or looks. Steel had a feeling this would keep her curiosity busy for quite a while, though she doubted she got her mother’s hair. She knew her hair was much too light to come from her mother who had rather dark, pretty much gunmetal gray in the photo she was holding. If anything her, Steel had a pretty good idea that her light hair came from her Mom. She was sure her aunt could confirm her theory the next time she visited, though she could always just ask her Mom. Wouldn’t be much harm in it. 

“I, in fact, found several sketchbooks… of your mother. I may have been a little obsessed when we were together,” Her Mom admitted as she came back into the room with two sketch books in hand. “In my defense, there weren’t any beauties while I was in school and she was willing to model.” 

That admission elicited a giggle from Steel. She could definitely see it considering her Mom’s other "slight" obsession. Accepting one of the sketchbooks Steel paused as she decided to throw her question into the breach. Plus it gave her sometime before she looked at the sketches. 

“Mom, you mentioned how I got my mother’s smile…did I get anything else from her?” 

“…You have her eyes, her strength and her laugh.” 

“Did I get her hair as well or was that from you?” 

“I believe your hair comes from the both of us.” Well that was succinct. Nodding at the answer, Steel turned her attention to the sketchbook in her hands that provided more evidence of her Mother. Well, better evidence than a Polaroid. It was a little exciting. Turning her gaze to the sketchbook in her lap, Steel opened it and felt one of her eyebrows raise. Her Mom’s talent seemed to go back further than she thought going by the date on the first sketch. 

The other reason for eyebrow rising was the sketch itself. It was a portrait of her (teen) Mother with a window behind her though what really caught her by surprise were the half-lidded eyes her (teen) Mother was sporting. They made her look tired, really tired, and they reminded Steel of her own eyes when she stayed up late. Although the portrait was very lovely and Steel was going to ask if she could look through it later, something was missing. A feature Steel was curious about since it seemed all the evidence on hand couldn’t answer it. 

“I’ll come,” Steel said meeting her Mother’s gaze with quiet excitement. “Though, uh, do you happen to remember her eye color?” 

“I always figured they were a burnt umber color.” Her Mom hummed in reply. “As for coming along, I’m glad. Your Mother and I will have to work out a date but I’ll make sure it happens before the year ends.” 

“Alright.” 

\------ 

Walking to the entrance of ZC’s with her Mom at her side, Steel found she was feeling slightly nervous and giddy. Not every day, or year, that one gets to reunite with your absent Mother. Thankfully those feelings weren’t particularly overbearing so she was able to quickly deal with them as she walked through the store’s door. 

“So uh I’m going to go look for a book, Mom.” Steel said as she began to walk away, coincidentally missing the look of concern on her Mom’s face. 

“You know where I’ll be?” Steel knew her Mom was going sit in the store’s little café waiting for her Mother to show up. 

“Yep.” Steel felt a little sheepish as she ducked into an aisle, making her way to a random section of ZC’s. She could’ve been less abrupt with that but Steel found herself to be more nervous than she thought. 

Making her way to a random section of the store, Steel began to feel a little silly. She had no reason to feel even more nervous about meeting her Mother. Not like the woman didn’t want to meet her, since her Mom made it quite clear it was Steel’s decision on whether she met her or not. Her Mom had made it quite concise about why her Mother decided to reach out. Something about extenuating circumstances on her end and realizing some stuff. Steel still wasn’t sure if she believed that reasoning or not. 

On the upside, Steel could always just leave if became too weird with her Mother. Her Mom wouldn’t begrudge her if things got too tense, though whether Steel would just retreat further into the store or actually leave was up in the air. Taking a deep breath, Steel felt her nerves settle again as she came to a stop. Best thing to do would be to just get this situation over with instead of avoiding it. That’s what Tech always told her when she asked about dealing with nervousness. 

_Time to put that advice to the test again,_ Steel mused. 

She was all set to go meet up with fate when a book in the current aisle caught her eye. _Classical Creation & Associated Myths_ was the title. Steel now paused for an entirely different reason. Pulling the book down and flipping through it, Steel quickly became rather enamored with it. The book had some beautiful illustrations, a lovely dust jacket and what really sold her was the inclusion of Thalassa’s creation. Most of the version Steel read completely skipped Thalassa’s origin and how she was born from Gaia and Urania’s love. Softly shutting the book, Steel nodded to herself in happiness. That book was going to be hers, no doubt about it. Plus if she got nervous later she could go actually buy to deal with her nerves again. 

Plan in mind, Steel made her way to the store’s little café. 

So imagine her surprise, after meandering into the cafe, upon finding her friend there in the café. Reading a book, well a few books by the look of it, at a table by herself. It wouldn’t hurt if she went over and said hi, right? Shooing a few other thoughts from her mind Steel began to make her way over after spying her Mom in line getting a drink. That might give Steel enough time to pop over and greet Ferra. She wasn’t really sure if her Mom would be keen on meeting her latest friend. 

“How’s the book?” Sure Steel could have thought of something better to say, but the situation made her remember the first time she spoke to Ferra. 

“Strange,” Ferra answered in a tone that Steel might’ve thought was cute at different time. “It’s much different from an earlier version I was given to read.” 

“Is the pacing that different or something?” 

“Definitely feels like it but I don’t really kn-Oh, Steel. Please, join me,” Ferra motioned to one of the seats across from her upon realizing who she was talking to. “Maybe you can help me puzzle out some of the differences in Unobtainium’s first anthology. I don’t know much about the characters or setting.” 

Now Steel might’ve hesitated, but it was only for a moment. Sure, she had just wanted to say “hi” but Ferra seemed to be rested and they always had fun conversations when she was like that. Plus that line her Mom was in, was pretty long. After the moment passed, Steel found herself setting the mythology book down and sliding into a seat across from her friend. 

“Unfortunately I probably won’t be much help,” Steel said a bit bashfully as she met Ferra’s gaze. “I’ve never really been into that series though my friend keeps recommending it. I might just give it a shot to surprise her.” The comment was coupled with a shrug of Steel’s shoulders. Terne had been rather passionate about the setting when she asked if she would like the series. Her smile while listing off the various positives had been rather…pretty in Steel’s mind. Pretty enough that Steel was tempted to try and get Terne to smile like that again by reading the books. Her musings about her friend’s smile were cut short as a low chuckle reached her ears. 

“That sounds better than how I got roped into reading them. My “friend”-" Steel felt an eyebrow rise when Ferra made air quotes around friend-“kept pestering me during work, talking about how I had to absolutely read the series. Eventually it got to the point where I said I would when I had some free time and she let up.” 

“Your friend sounds a little…insistent. Is that normal?” Steel said with some veiled curiosity. It wasn’t everyday Ferra talked about her “friends.” Usually she just mentioned co-workers. 

“Oh yes, Allie is very persistent when she wants to be. It’s downright grating sometimes,” Ferra grumbled, sounded like this Allie had more energy than Ferra dealt with. “I’m not sure how her assistant deals with her. So what are you doing here at Zeit’s? Seeing if any new albums came out?” 

Now that caused a chuckle to slip out of Steel. It had been a long time since she bought a cd from a store. Typically she got them online or from concerts. 

“Oh goodness, not this time. I was shopping around for the holidays and found something for myself.” Steel said motioning towards the mythology book. “Although now that you mention it, I do believe Leviathun released a compilation recently…so maybe it’s worth a look.” 

“Oh they did? I really need to look up recent releases then. Leviathun’s great, right up there with Thunder Gods. Always loved the range their vocalist has, she could pull off a good aria. What’s the compilation about? Greatest hits or something?” 

“Ah, I believe…that it’s an anniversary type thing. So maybe some of their well-known songs following a theme, though what caught my interest was that Pluton’s Favoured along with several other bands did covers for most of the songs on it too.” Steel said mildly enthused by Ferra’s knowledge of the band, maybe her friend knew a few other things. “It would be nice if the album had some of Leviathun’s early stuff, back before they became the backbone of the symphonic metal genre.” 

“Well if Pluton’s has a song in it, then I’ll definitely pick it up.” Ferra smiled softly as their conversation deepened. “Back when I was listening to them, they jumped around a lot trying different styles. It’ll be interesting to see what they grew into.” 

“How many different styles did they try?” Steel had become rather curious now that Ferra mentioned their earliest stuff. She had quite a time trying to find their really old stuff and Ferra casually mentioning it sparked her dormant interest. “Everything I could get my hands on is when they were forming the gen-“ 

“There you are Steel.” Her Mom’s voice caused Steel turn her head around to see her Mom coming towards her and Ferra holding…three drinks? Steel felt like groaning as she realized she’d have to introduce Ferra and probably get an earful from her Mom about not telling her about her new friend later. Standing up, Steel looked at Ferra and was rather confused by the worried expression her friend was sporting. 

“I thought I saw you walk over earlier, good thing I did. I got you a hot cocoa.” Her Mom said with a smile as she handed the drink off. Steel accepted it with muted thanks as she happened to be swallowing down a fresh bout of nerves upon looking her Mom in the eye. 

“Um Mom,” Steel said grabbing her Mom’s attention as she idly tapped her drink’s cup before motioning across the table to Ferra. “This is my friend Ferra, the one I saw at that concert with Wolfram. Ferra this is my Mom.” 

After Steel’s little abrupt introduction passed, she found herself taking a generous sip of her drink. The minor pain from the hot liquid was better than the silence that descended upon the table which was just a little…awkward. The way her Mom was scrutinizing Ferra most likely wasn’t helping matters either, and Ferra just seemed to shrink in on herself. Honestly that was, perhaps, the strangest thing Steel’s seen in her friend. She should probably text Ferra later to see if everything was alright. 

“You look well Iron.” Steel felt her eyebrows rise as her Mom spoke to her friend. It wasn’t possible they knew each other, right? 

“Yes. Thank you. Winter has been kind to me.” Steel took another generous sip of her cocoa as she felt some of the awkwardness leave. However, what caused her eyebrows to jump once more was her Mom handing Ferra the extra drink she had. Not nearly as weird as the way their hands slightly lingered when they were passing the drink. 

“Um please sit Carbon, and you to Steel.” Ferra said somewhat shyly, although the way her friend said her name caused Steel to pause in the middle of taking another sip. That…that tone had sounded rather close to how her Mom sounds when she has something serious to discuss and Steel wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

Seeing her Mom moving to sit down in the chair next to Steel’s, she followed suit. This couldn’t have anything to do with why she and her Mom came to ZC’s was it? 

“So, um, Steel the reason why I’m here is… The reason is that I was hoping to meet someone. Someone I had not been in contact with until recently. Much t…much to my surprise. ” Steel wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Ferra struggle with her words. It was a little surreal, honestly, and worrying. 

Steel was beginning to feel a little apprehensive with how solemn the mood had suddenly become. It felt like she was hearing something of Ferra’s that was deeply personal, which made her Mom’s presence even weirder. Not to mention the inquisitive part of her mind was trying to piece together who Ferra was hoping to meet. From what little her friend said, it sounded like Ferra planned to meet someone from her family or an old friend. 

“Unfortunately I hav…I haven’t seen her since she was a baby, so I’m a little nervous about the entire thing. She would be around your age now.” 

Well now Steel had a pretty good idea her friend was meeting a niece or some younger sister. Her mind however, was quick to supply that Ferra could also be meeting a daughter. Steel had never really tried to pin an age to her friend (she was thinking late twenties) but what Ferra just said and with how much she works gave Steel a dawning realization; one that involves her friend being as old as her Mom which just kind of reinforced her thought that Ferra was planning to meet her daughter. 

“She and I have actually met recently but she didn’t know it. It had been a rath…It had been a rather innocuous meeting.” 

Something within Steel stilled as she heard this, and it just expounded the surreal feelings she was having currently. After a quick glance at her Mom, who was looking at them with reserved concern, Steel felt like she had to say something. She had to take the chance since the path was there. Meeting Ferra’s eyes, Steel spoke with a tone of caution. She was treading into murky waters after all. 

“Were…were you planning to meet your daughter?” The way Ferra’s eyes became a little vacant as she nodded slowly made Steel think she overstepped the bounds of their friendship. 

“Yes Steel,” The slightly hollow tone Ferra was speaking in made Steel worry. Like the times she saw her really friend sleep deprived and overworked, or the rare occasion where some sort of sorrow broke into Ferra’s countenance. The worry made Steel feel torn since she wanted to help in some way but she was sure she would be overstepping the bounds of their friendship. “I was hoping to meet you today. I’m glad I got to know you as your friend before you met me as your moth…your mo…your absentee parent.” 

… 

Steel felt her eyes widen and her gaze blur at her fr-her mo-her f…Ferra’s words. This was not what she expected. She hadn’t even considered the possibility that her Mother could very well be someone she knew. If this was any other situation, Steel might’ve thought the Fates were messing with her but it wasn’t. A quick glance to her Mom and the little nod she received, pretty much confirmed Steel’s thoughts. 

“…Oh.” 

She didn’t have much else to say. The surprise of the situation just stopped any response she had been working on. Closing her mouth, Steel felt herself open it again only to quickly shut it. She was really at a loss for words and the surprise was really doing a number on her. After another moment or two, Steel felt she had an adequate handle on her bearings. Allowing her gaze to focus back on Ferra; Steel was a little surprised to see that-yes, her friend was still there across from her, sitting in ZC’s, with a rather vacant look in her eyes almost as if she was vending machine with a broken backlight. 

If it wasn’t for the surprise still being processed, the almost dead inside look on her friend’s face would’ve greatly worried Steel. Enough to have her throw caution to the wind and try to help her friend. She was still a friend, right? Steel felt she was, though she’d have to seriously think on it now instead of doing it during daydreams. However, as if commanded by Anake herself, something broke the stiff silence at the table. 

“So uh, Iron…I am loving the red,” her Mom’s voice broke through the silence and caused two pairs of eyes to turn to look at her, “when did you start coloring your hair? Last time it was almost as dark as mine.” 

Steel almost felt like laughing at the absurdity of her Mom’s question and how sheepish she looked. Figures her Mom would ask something out of the blue. Although what caught Steel by further surprise was the chuckle that came from Ferra, and before she realized it, Steel felt herself biting back a giggle. 

“What? I’m curious.” Steel felt a giggle escape as her Mom started to pout. Ferra must’ve felt something similar with her renewed chuckle. Glancing at Ferra, Steel felt a small amount of relief at the renewed life in her friend’s eyes. Her Mom’s excellent question must have been unexpected enough that Ferra couldn’t help but smile…or it was nostalgia? Steel wasn’t really sure, but considering what she knew now about her Mom and her friend’s previous relationship it might’ve brought up a memory. 

“That’s um, that’s a bit of a story. Not an interesting one either, not sure you girls would like it.” Iron eventually said after her laughter died down. Glancing at her Mom still being bashful, and feeling her grin lengthen, Steel decided to go out on a limb as she met her friend’s eyes. 

“Please Ferra?” Immediately after asking Steel felt a little silly. Not because of actually asking, but she could’ve phrased it better than how a kid might ask something of their mother. Seeing her friend look at her, and the side eye she sent her Mom, Steel felt another smile break out as her friend relented. 

“Alright,” Ferra began after sighing. It wasn’t the first time Steel had gotten her to share something via a little bit of needling, though she guessed her Mom might’ve done something similar in the past. 

“It’s not much of a story. I was…traveling abroad for various reasons, in my mid-twenties, so I had various jobs. One day a co-worker suggested that we, she and I, should go out to the local club for the weekend since we had a bit of an arduous week. I repeatedly turned her down for…er for reasons.” Iron took a few generous sips of her drink as she was telling the story. Mostly around the same places she coincidentally avoided Steel and her Mom’s gaze, which made Steel slightly curious but she wasn’t about go and prod that. She still had her surprise to get through and Ferra was probably going through some things as well. 

“Eventually I got it across that I didn’t want to go but she persisted,” Ferra let out a sigh at that. Apparently, her co-worker was very persistent and it made Steel idly wonder if said co-worker was that “Allie” Ferra mentioned. 

“I ended up convincing her that I needed to get my hair cut, and she worked herself up into also getting our nails done. The weekend arrives and when we go to the hair dresser, I ended up being kind of ambivalent about what I want so I asked the stylist to surprise me. Imagine my actual surprise when not only was my long hair nice and short, but it was this shade of red.” Ferra motioned to her long hair as she finished her drink. 

“The real kicker is that I didn’t even notice the color until the next morning when someone complimented me on it.” 

The giggles that erupted from her Mom had Steel raising an eyebrow when she turned to look at her. Not to mention the smile that was kind of becoming present, though the way her Mom was waving them off had Steel snickering to herself. 

“Sorry, sorry. I could just see the surprise on your face.” Ferra gave her Mom a small grin as she said it was fine. “So you chose to keep the red?” 

“See that’s the funny thing,” Ferra said as she touched her hair. “I haven’t had it colored since; so it’s probably permanent.” 

“No.” Steel wasn’t really sure why her Mom seemed all concerned. Ferra’s hair looked fine, outside of being red and light grey in some places. She felt it helped Ferra stand out…kind of. 

“Not much of a loss. Although when I discovered it I tried to find the stylist to ask if it was permanent or not,” Ferra said with a shrug. “When I talked to the manager they had told me that, that stylist had left their employ so I’ve never really found out. Never bothered me either so I just left it alone.” 

Steel hid her grin by taking another sip of her drink. She was feeling much more comfortable after that story, comfortable enough to possibly address the reason why they were all here. Steel wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted in relation to the situation though she knew she wanted to keep her friendship with Ferra. Maybe everything else would work itself out later. 

“Well that’s quite the story. Thank you for sharing,” Carbon said as she stood. “I’m gonna go get another drink. Would you two like another cocoa?” 

“Uh, sure. I mean yes. Yes please.” “Yes please.” 

Steel snickered to herself. Ferra was pretty interesting when she was being sheepish, though now that her Mom was gone the mood became kind of stiff again. _Guess it’s time to do my part._

“So…uh, Ferra,” Steel said breaking the silence and drawing Ferra’s gaze, “I’ll be truthful and admit that I’m not really sure how to feel. I think I’m still getting through the surprise that my friend-you- are my absent mother.” 

The little flinch Ferra did at the word mother caused Steel to slightly pick up the pace. She didn’t really want to cause her friend any more accidental grief than she would from this. 

“Listen, I’m not really sure how to feel on the topic. I would like to know your reasons at a later time but right now I’m not bothered by them because your absence in my life was just that…an absence. Mom didn’t ever really talk about you, outside of some reassurances that you loved-love me when I was younger. For a while I had thought you were a dead with how she talked about you and the situation but as I got older, I kind of pieced together that you were alive and just…not in the country or in the city we lived in. Certainly not in our family's picture. I mean, sure. I probably would’ve hired an investigator or someone in the future if my curiosity found more evidence that you were alive and somewhere in the city but-well you reached out to Mom, and here we are.” Steel said with a soft smile as she worked through her thoughts. 

“Now I know how that sounds, but Ferra listen- I’m still not sure and probably won’t be sure how to feel about my mother coming back into my life. I mean I’m seventeen and I’ll most likely be going off to Uni in two or three years. Mom will probably be all in a tizzy about it but it’ll just reaffirm to her that I’m becoming an adult. As such, it’ll most likely take some time for me to see you in such a context. If you even want that, that is.” 

If Steel hadn’t been looking her friend, and surprise mother, in the eye she would’ve completely missed the glassy sheen they took on for a moment. A moment was all it took for Ferra to take a deep breath and then the sheen was gone, which just added to the worry Steel had about her friend. 

“However, I would still like to be friends…Iron. I love the times we spent together talking about music. Going to that concert with you made my month, and having someone I could confide in that somehow didn’t know my Mom was nice. Although I guess ironically, you were another person who knew my Mom but it didn’t look that way to me and I liked it. So umm…I would very much like to continue our friendship if that’s alright with you.” 

Steel saw Ferr-Iron exhale a breath after she ended her thoughts, and her proposal. Steel hoped her friend would agree, though if she did, Steel felt she was going to have think on how they’re friendship would continue from here and whether or not she could have another maternal figure in her life. Sure she had her four aunts, but no one ever really came close to her Mom. 

“I’d li…I’d like that Steel,” Iron said breaking Steel’s train of thought, “continuing our friendship that is. We can talk about why I wasn’t around when you want, though uh I’d prefer not to do it in public. I would though…talk about it, if you wanted to. Location be damned. You can call me when you’re up for hearing about it.” 

Steel smiled at that. Iron still wanted to be friends and that’s really what she hoped for in the moment. She would worry about everything else later she decided. 

“Thank you for that Iron.” Steel said still smiling as a soft smile worked its way onto her friend. Heavy stuff worked through and out of the way, Steel could finally ask Iron something that was recently nagging her curiosity. 

“So um, about how you got your red…was the co-worker in that story, Allie?” 

“Oh Primae no. No, no, no.” Iron said with a laugh. “If she was, I probably would’ve not gotten my hair styled or the manipedi we got after. No. That co-worker and Allie are two different people, not to mention that co-worker now works for me.” 

Steel giggled at Iron’s proclamation and the two soon began to make small talk as they waited for her Mom. The small talk soon shifted to Steel telling her friend about upcoming albums and before they knew it, they found themselves talking about concerts that would be happening in the New Year. Steel was in the middle of working up the nerve to ask if her friend wanted to go to a concert together when her Mom came back with the drinks. 

Much to Steel’s surprise, the conversation continued and her Mom readily joined. Apparently Iron and her Mom had gone to a few concerts when they were younger. She was sure some part of her mind was kicking itself since shew knew they were a couple but it was a little hard to imagine her (teen)Mom at a concert. Although as the conversation went on, Steel soon found herself making plans with Iron and her Mom to go see one of the concerts. That added a bit more to the surprise, though it soon vanished as warmth took its place. 

After they worked out a few more details, and made some plans to talk again when it almost time for the concert, their little group was soon making their way to the exit. Acourse, this was after Steel bought her mythology book and her Mom bought something of her own. Iron had apparently already paid for her more recent edition of the first Unobtainium anthology. So it was with some awkwardness that Steel began to lag behind the two in the parking lot. When they turned to look at her, Steel surprised them and herself, by pulling Iron into a hug. 

“Thank you for meeting me today, Iron.” Steel felt more than heard the shaky breath her friend took in as Iron slowly returned the hug. 

“You’re welcome, and thank you for being my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here's the end. Sorry it took so long, I might do an epilogue type thing. Maybe.  
> Thanks to my beta, and any mistakes are my own.
> 
> Reference;  
> ZC's/Zeit's: A major, and popular, bookstore chain in the setting. The actual name comes from Zeitschrift fϋr Chemie. The first magazine, outside of Russia, to print Mendelev's periodic table.
> 
> Gaia, Urania, Thalassa and the myth: These should be kind of self-explanatory but Urania is just knockoff Uranus and probably Aphrodite Urania (AU) if I was to callback to chap2. Thalassa is a primordial sea goddess in classical mythology. However the little myth I had Steel mention is basically planet creation and ocean creation in very broad strokes. Essentially a planet(Gaia) is formed from "nothing"/left over star dust. When the planet reaches a sufficient mass it begins to retain, or births, an atmosphere(Urania). Once the atmosphere is in place, and depending upon the planet's position relative to the Sun, liquid water can start to form. Thus Gaia and Urania coupling led to Thalassa being borne through Gaia.


End file.
